Off with their pants

In cities around the world, from Sydney to Shanghai, people stripped off their trousers on Jan. 13 and rode subway systems fully clothed on top but wearing nothing on the bottom but their underwear. This was not a nudist protest or a case of everyone forgetting to do their laundry. It was the 12th annual edition of the “No Pants Subway Ride,” – an improvised comedy event started by the New York group “Improv Everywhere.”

13 Jan 2013. New York, United States. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

Improv Everywhere organised their first “No Pants Subway Ride” in January 2002 on New York’s 6 train – the same line that this suspender-clad participant rode this year. The first pants-less ride started out with just seven people but since then the event has snowballed and this year thousands of people opted to take part in 62 cities around the world.

13 Jan 2013. LONDON, United Kingdom. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett

Improv Everywhere describe themselves as a “prank collective that causes scenes of chaos and joy in public places” - for example on the London Underground, where the no-pants event has been re-christened “No Trousers Tube Ride”.

Improv Everywhere’s founder Charlie Todd explained in a TED Talk lecture that his group wants “to cause a scene in a public place that is a positive experience for other people. It’s a prank, but it’s a prank that gives somebody a great story to tell.”

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13 Jan 2013. New York, United States. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

A woman looks away as people take part in the "No Pants Subway Ride" on the uptown 6 train in New York.

13 Jan 2013. New York, United States. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

The main website for the event states anyone can take part so long as he or she is: “1) Willing to take pants off on subway 2) Able to keep a straight face about it”.

13 Jan 2013. New York, United States. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

Participants in New York, like this man in his boxer shorts, met at six points around the city at the beginning of the event.

13 Jan 2013. New York, United States. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

New York participants were instructed to tell anyone who asked them why they were not wearing pants that they “forgot”, and that they are “a little cold.”

13 Jan 2013. New York, United States. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

Participants were also told to act as if they didn't know one another once they were inside the subway system.

13 Jan 2013. SHANGHAI, China. REUTERS/Aly Song

A participant takes off his pants in Shanghai. Those taking part in New York were told to respond to questions about why they were taking their pants off on the train by answering that they were "getting uncomfortable".

13 Jan 2013. SHANGHAI, China. REUTERS/Aly Song

Passengers look at two women without their pants on the subway in Shanghai.

13 Jan 2013. SHANGHAI, China. REUTERS/Aly Song

The legs of a man taking part in the event stick out into the aisle of the Shanghai subway.

13 Jan 2013. SHANGHAI, China. REUTERS/Aly Song

Fellow passengers react to seeing a man just wearing his boxers. Participants were told to act as if nothing was unusual: "Read a magazine or whatever you would normally do," instructs Improv Everywhere's website.